about

The Stranger Stranger Supper Series was a string of performative meals at different restaurants along the Central Corridor in Saint Paul, Minnesota. For each meal, up to 6 members of the public could receive a “character” — then they come together for dinner as those characters. Whatever happened during the meal was the performance! Anybody else could dine at the restaurant that same night and watch it unfold or even interact with the performance, perhaps inventing their own characters.

The project was designed to build community and business amidst the light rail construction by bringing people together around delicious food and interactive performance. The characters at each dinner were not necessarily obvious. People unaffiliated with the project dined at the restaurants during the events. It was up to individuals to determine who was “acting” and who was not. What’s art and what’s “real” life? Is there perhaps, sometimes, little difference?

The Stranger Stranger Supper Series made appearances at Ngon Vietnamese Bistro, HOMI Restaurante Mexicano, and Little Szechuan Chinese Restaurant & Bar in January 2013. For photos and anecdotes from each event, click here. The series is over for now, but may resume in the future; stay tuned to this website and/or our Facebook page for updates.

This project was developed by Rachel Jendrzejewski with support from Irrigate Arts, an artist-led creative placemaking initiative spanning the six miles of the Central Corridor Light Rail line in Saint Paul during the years of its construction. To learn more about Irrigate Arts, visit http://irrigatearts.org.